


Starlight

by CatsRecipehs



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blind Ignis, Fluff, Gladnis, Healing, Ignis x Gladio, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Older Ignis, Romance, Yaoi, older gladio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 07:04:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10156934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatsRecipehs/pseuds/CatsRecipehs
Summary: When Gladiolus goes off hunting alone and returns gravely injured, it is up to Ignis to save his friend and former lover from death's door.This story takes place during the time skip.





	

Darkness had fallen. The landscape of Eos, a once beautiful world filled with color and life, had changed drastically since the last of the Lucien kings disappeared into the crystal. Grasses, trees and flowers gave way to the barren desert, unable to endure without the light of the sun. It was survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom, where adaptation reigned over strength in numbers, leaving entire species to breathe their last breath. This was the birth of a new world; one that could not take place without the death of the old.

Humans were of no exception to this rule. Kill or be killed, once the motto of the hunters, was now creed to everyone left in the lingering night. Fear no longer had its place. The unknown was an everyday occurrence. Five years had passed like this, from what most of them could calculate. It was difficult to tell the passage of time for lack of light cycles, but Prompto had made it his personal priority to act as a calendar; marking off days, ticking off minutes until the King of Light returned to the world. It was this belief that kept them all going.

This was a reality so stark in comparison to the once vibrant world of old that Iris Amicitia could hardly believe her eyes at most times. She had never felt so fortunate as she did now to have her family’s blood running through her veins. That, and the years of training she had received from her older brother, Gladiolus. Without those things, daemons would have been the least of her worries. The young woman stood on a bluff just outside of Hammerhead, desperately searching the area for any sight or sound of Talcott’s truck. He, Ignis and Prompto had headed off west towards Coernix Station hours ago after she had received a text message from her brother that sent chills to her core:

_Help_

A gentle light in the distance was becoming stronger. Iris felt her heart racing as she saw the shape of the truck speeding towards her. She ran down the hill towards garage, reaching the pick-up just in time for it to screech to a halt.

“Where is he where is Gladio?!” she shouted frantically, brown eyes searching for any sign of her brother but only seeing Talcott in the front of the truck. Before the young man could say anything in response, a form stood up from the bed of the vehicle.

“He is here, Iris. He is alright, for now. Quickly, he needs a bed and I need supplies,” Ignis said in a tone he strained to keep calm. Calm, however, was a difficult thing to find when one of your best friends was dying.

Iris ran to the back of the truck just as Prompto had let down the tailgate. She could not have been prepared for what she saw, letting out an audible gasp. Gladio was sitting up only because Prompto and Ignis had his arms around their shoulders, poised to hoist him to his feet. His coat was open, showing a large bandage soaked in blood wrapped around his torso. As the two men lifted, Gladio let out a deep, primal cry of pain, one that cut them all to the core. In the least, however, it showed them he was still alive.

Things moved fast. Talcott, Prompto and Ignis were able to carry Gladio to an empty caravan, laying him out on the clean bed. Iris came with as many supplies as she could, setting them down for inspection as she stared at her brother. She told him not to go off by himself. She had begged him. He didn’t listen.

Ignis’s sight had never returned after that fateful day in Altissa, but his loyalty to Noctis and the crown gave him the strength he needed to persevere. He had trained side by side with his friends to rework his skill sets from the ground up. With Gladio’s help especially, he was even able to fight again using instinct as a third eye. It was his healing talents, though, that set him apart from the others; that intuition could never been taken away. And right now? It was heightened.

He moved his hands over the supplies Iris had brought, searching for something specific. When he didn’t feel it, he turned in her direction. “Iris. I need the flask.”

Iris was trying to make Gladio as comfortable as possible, telling her brother that she was there, though she wasn’t sure if he was still conscious. She was paying attention to no one else, but Ignis’s words rang through the small space crystal clear. The flask. “Ignis…we…only have one left,” she said, her words almost shaky as she told him something they all already knew.

Curative magic held a potency that no manufactured elixir could replicate. It could heal wounds from the inside out, repairing the human body as if nothing had happened, leaving not even the trace of a scar if used properly. There was only one flask of curative magic left. Only one in the entire world. After all, the only person who could make more was trapped in the land of the Gods.

“Iris,” Ignis said calmly, but there was pain in his voice he could not hide. He could not make it more clear to everyone in the room. “I need the flask. And then I need everyone to go.”

Iris fought back tears as she ran towards the supply shed. Prompto squeezed Gladio’s hand tightly, then nodded to Ignis and headed out with Talcott. When Iris returned, her cheeks were wet, and a shaking hand held out the glowing green orb to Ignis. “Save him, Ignis,” she whispered.

“Indeed.”

\--

Ignis sat on the bed beside his friend. The day he realized that he would never have his sight back, he began dedicating an hour of each day to memorizing the faces of his three friends using visions of his favorite memories, especially concentrating on their eyes. Prompto’s image was of the blonde on a chocobo, smiling so brightly his eyes were closed. Noctis’s was one of surprised happiness at catching a very large fish, his bright blue eyes shining with pride as they sought praise.

But Gladio’s was different. Ignis’s favorite memory of the King’s shield was sitting beside him at a campfire under the light of the stars, talking for hours about history, cosmology and fighting techniques. Gladio would listen to him speak so intently, hanging on his every word and staring with the warmest amber eyes. He made Ignis feel like the only person in the world who mattered during those moments. It made him feel loved. It had sparked something between them on those nights in the beginning of their journey, something that had been there all through their high school years but was never really touched. Something about being under the light of a million stars, though, had given them both courage. The image of Gladio Ignis kept ingrained in his brain was the look his face held after they had their first kiss.

Those were the days when things were simple, even if they had seemed so vast. When the world started to change, they struggled to hold it together for Noctis. They had to; it was their duty to buy him time to collect the weapons of his ancestors or they would all be lost to the darkness. There was little time for romance and love. Duty above all else. They drifted apart. Gladio left and returned with no explanation. Ignis went blind. Noctis disappeared. And yet, that something that had ignited under the starlight was still there. Ignis was glad for it. He would need it now more than ever.

“Gladio…I am here,” Ignis said softly. It was time. He took the circular flask into his hands and concentrated his thoughts. The green orb glowed softly, then intensified as the magic contained within started to spill out over his fingers, covering his hands in glittering mist. Ignis could not see it, but sight was not required to harness magic’s true strength. The power of magic came from within: fire from the soul, lightning from the mind, ice from the body, and healing from the heart. The special property of curative magic that made it more than any synthesized serum could hope to be was the power it pulled from the bond shared between wielder and recipient. It would be the bond of their hearts that would ultimately determine Gladiolus’s life or death, and Ignis was no less than terrified at the thought of it.

“Ig…nis…” Gladio suddenly whispered softly. He was barely conscious, unable to move with no idea of his surroundings but he heard the other man and knew that he must be safe. He had grossly underestimated the strength of the behemoth he had been fighting alone. He could feel that Ignis was slowly unwrapping bandages from his stomach. That was where it had swiped him, leaving claw marks so deep he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t been gutted. He could barely remember crawling away to a light of safety. He thought he had sent a text message. He must have. Ignis was here.

“I’m here. Lay still,” Ignis replied. He was glad that he could not see what he was uncovering. He was not squeamish in the least, but he could tell that this would have been difficult to stomach. As his fingers touched flesh, he froze. He couldn’t do this. This was something for someone who could truly wield the power of magic like Lunafreya or Noctis. Not some blind bodyguard with borrowed command over a force unknown to anyone else in this world.

Gladio’s pulse was slowing. The image of his soft smile after their lips had parted popped into Ignis’s head. “You have to Ignis, you have to do this,” he whispered only to himself. After all, Lunafreya was dead, and Noctis was…away. This magic was the last of all the magic left in the world. Failure was not an option.

He calmed himself again using meditation techniques he had studied so dutifully when he was in school. His hands came to a gentle rest on the large wound, the green mist immediately going to work. It drifted down inside of Gladio’s body, working to erase the effects of the creature’s fateful swing, but something was wrong. It wasn’t working as it should, Ignis could feel that. He started to panic now, his mind racing to think. He had watched Noctis do this before. There were no words or incantations he used, it had just…worked.

“Gladio…I…I cannot…” he stammered, trying to concentrate more on the wound but still nothing was changing. It was almost as if the magic wasn’t trying.

…no. More like something was holding it back.

_You heal from the heart, Ignis. That’s why it’s so easy to help you guys_.

Noctis’s words rang through his mind, and Ignis tried harder to push more magic into Gladio’s body. Noctis wasn’t there. He had left, just like Gladio had left.

Oh…there it was.

Ignis gasped, shaking his head for a moment. This was silly, this man was dying, he had to heal him. He couldn’t deal with this right now, and yet, he needed to. The bond had to be repaired, or it would forever be too late. Push your pride aside, Ignis, he told himself. Push your pride aside and let your own wounds show.

“Gladio you left me!” Ignis suddenly blurted out.

A surge of green pulsed into Gladio’s wound in that moment, the larger man letting out a pained cry as he could feel the unseen force attempting to piece him back together. He had never felt this sort of torment before, but he’d never been this badly hurt before, either. His hand reached out and grabbed Ignis’s knee, squeezing it to try to give himself some sort of relief. “I’m sorry!” he shouted through gritted teeth. “I….shouldn’t….go alone…” he stammered, unsure of why this was a good time for a lecture.

“In Lestallum, you left us! You left _me_ …you…you just left…” Ignis said with unmasked hurt in his voice. He could feel tears now from his better eye. He wanted to wipe them away but he could not remove his hands from Gladio’s wound. He hated crying now more than ever, because it only drew attention to his scars. “We made love the night before, do you remember? And then you left,” he added. He hadn’t realized how hurt he had been by the events of their past. When Gladio left, he tried to justify it to himself. It had only been sex, it was nothing more, he came to believe. That wall was built that day, and now it was cracking.

Gladio gasped in searing pain as it felt like the magic was cauterizing him. “Ignis!” he shouted, his body contracting as his insides twisted and turned their way back in place. “I’m sorry….I’m…sorry…” he tried to say to the other man, but he felt himself blinking in and out of consciousness.

“I loved you, Gladio, with all of my heart…” Ignis whispered between them, his tears falling onto his Kingsglaive jacket as he hung his head. “I still do.”

The wall was broken. The green mist that had only surrounded Ignis’s hands now covered both of their bodies, dancing around them in an ethereal light. The intense pain that wracked the shield’s body was now gone, replaced instead by a dull numbness, as if his entire body had lost feeling. Time froze around them. He could see that Ignis was crying. Ignis never cried. He still loved him.

With the abilities of the magic fully unlocked, it was only a matter of moments before Gladio was completely healed. The green mist dissipated around them until no trace was left in the world. The last of the magic had not gone to waste.

Gladio was able to sit up as if nothing had ever happened, but he didn’t take time to marvel in it all or to contemplate how close to death he had been. Ignis still loved him, and it was the only thing that mattered. “Iggy…” he said softly as he reached out and put a hand on Ignis’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you why I left. The real reason. Alright? Please just don’t cry,” he said, reaching his other hand towards Ignis’s face to wipe away his tears, but Ignis pulled back. He had not let anyone touch his face since it had happened. Gladio gave a soft grunt of surprise, but pulled his hand back.

Ignis wiped his own tears away, glad that his glasses at least gave him some shielding. Gladio seemed perfectly healed. The magic must have worked, but he had no idea it would come at such a personal cost. He had no idea he would have to expose his carefully guarded heart. “You owe me that much,” he said softly.

“Ignis I…look, remember when we were getting the Regalia back from that base? When Ravus came…Ignis…I can still hear it. ‘A weak shield protects naught’. He threw me back into that car like I was a child,” he said, his deep voice wavering now as he recalled the memory. He moved his hand from Ignis’s shoulder up into the man’s sandy brown hair, holding to him. “Everything I had ever been…my whole life…it all came into question in that moment. I had to be stronger, somehow. So I asked Cor what I needed to do. I didn’t tell you guys because I didn’t want you to stop me. He took me to see Gilgamesh…”

“You went where?!” Ignis gasped, practically shouting at the man. Gilgamesh was a demigod of strength who could venture out of the astral realm at the request of mortals. He would bestow strength upon anyone who could best him in battle, but the penalty of loss was death. That was how Gladio had gotten so scarred but lived to return to them. Ignis suddenly leaned in towards the other man, his hands feeling across the great scar on Gladio’s chest, then the one on his forehead. “You…you beat him…” he whispered. “No one…beats him…”

“Cor had before,” Gladio whispered, welcoming the touch from the other man. It had been so long, and it was something he never thought he would feel again. “Not many people know that’s why they call him Cor the Immortal. Ignis please know that I didn’t want to leave you guys, but if I told you where I was going, you would have stopped me. I had to do it for Noctis. For my family. For me. I’m the shield, and no one will ever call me weak again,” he said with a strength and conviction to his voice that made Ignis inch in a bit closer.

“You were different when you came back. More focused. More determined. …stronger,” Ignis said. “That makes sense now.”

“Iggy it doesn’t make it right. I should have told you that I loved you, that I was coming back for you,” Gladio said as he suddenly took Ignis’s hand and pressed it against his chest. “This thing in here? It beats every day for you. My body and my mind are dedicated to my duty, but my heart has belonged to you since that night we kissed at the campfire, remember?”

Ignis’s breath caught in his throat. The one memory he would spend his life making sure he never forgot was the same memory that Gladio clung to after all these years. He leaned forward now, and before he knew it his arms were wrapped tightly around the larger man, his face buried in his neck. It was a sense of comfort and familiarity that he needed more than air. “I did not realize how badly I had been hurt by it until tonight,” he whispered between them. “I thought I was over the love I had for you, but it was merely hidden away, deep down, away from anything that could hurt it again.”

Gladio pulled Ignis into his body, holding the other man as close as he could get him. He took a deep breath, the intoxicating scent of Ignis filling him with a warmth that had all but gone from the world. He had broken this man in his moment of selfishness, and that hurt worse than the magic that had healed him. “Ignis...I…if you give me another chance, I…”

“You’ll what?” Ignis said as he lifted his head between them so that they were face to face. Slowly, he reached up and pulled away his glasses. “I’m not what I used to be.”

Gladio’s eyes went wide. Ignis never took those glasses off. They were his safety from the prying eyes of those less sensitive to his situation. It was almost as if he were baring his soul. “No. You’re better,” Gladio said as he lifted a hand, gently placing it close to the eye that would no longer open. Softly he placed a kiss to the large scar, brushing his thumb over his cheek before he continued. Tell him, Gladio, he told himself. “When the darkness came, the stars left the sky. Our stars. We’re going to bring them back, Ignis. And when we do, I’m going to hold you until I finish describing every twinkle, every light they give above, because you keep that light going inside of me. In all of this darkness, you shine brighter than they could ever dream.”

“Gladio,” Ignis whispered. He leaned in, Gladio meeting him to help guide their lips together in loving embrace long overdue. Sight, he decided in that moment was nothing compared to the magnetism of what existed between them. The purest forms of love never die. Ignis felt himself melting into the other man and he did nothing to stop it. His lips parted, Gladio’s tongue wasting no time slipping into his former lover’s mouth. With a groan, Ignis pulled the shield’s tongue in deep, his mind forgetting the ordeal through which they just went. Gladio and Gladio alone held that power over him. That is, until reality came knocking on the caravan door.

“Ignis!?” called a nervous Iris. “Is Gladdy alright? Please tell me he’s alright!”

Gladio groaned in soft disappointment at the interruption. When their lips drew softly back, though, he had a gentle smile on his face. “I should probably tell my sister I’m not dead,” he said, then chuckled.

“Capital idea,” Ignis smirked as he replaced his glasses then touched the other man’s arm. “Gladio…I love you.”

“I love you, too, Starlight,” Gladio replied, kissing Ignis’s forehead and standing. “To be continued,” he winked, heading out of the trailer before he had a chance to respond.

Starlight. Ignis smiled. The last of the magic, it seemed, had healed them both.

 


End file.
